January 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

I have found that WTG and XTG are sufficient for DFS which is usually fine for me. I've played with ATG more on my neck than my face. So far no major blood but it can be a bit tricky for sure.

 

I can handle it on my face, but my neck is very prone to breakouts, and my neck hair growth patterns are so all over the place that it does not usually pay off. A solid DFS is all I need, and shaving every day is my quiet time, so I enjoy it.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

January 31 (Tuesday) - badger and blade focus

Gillette Black Beauty on 3
PAL Gold Thin Hollow Ground carbon ( 27)
Edwin Jagger Super Badger medium brush
The Eternal Tub of TOBS Avocado Cream ( croap )
Alum and Thayers Witch Hazel Lavender

For the final day of my brush focus month I decided to revisit the sole surviving badger offering in my rotation. The result: One final brush bit the metaphorical dust. I never did get a good lather tonight; what I finally used was thin and runny. It worked okay but that was all thanks to the inherent slipperiness of the soap and none to the job I was able to do with the brush.

At this point, with a soap I know extremely well, I am getting inconsistent and mostly poor results with this brush. I have two choices: 1. Spend a focus month working with this badger brush until I finally (maybe) achieve results comparable to those I already get with my boars and synthetics; or 2. just dump the badgers altogether and stick with what already works well for me.

I'm voting for door number 2.

I started the month with 17 user brushes: 4 badger, 9 boar and 4 synthetics. I am now ending with a rotation of 9: no badger, 3 boar and 6 synthetics (3 of them re-knotted vintage boar). One 1920s vintage badger is staying in my collection. The rest are going to hit the road (apart from the 3 that already hit the garbage).

Despite the thin, runny lather, the shave itself was okay. No problems from the carbon blade on its 27th outing, no heat from the alum and a nice final rubdown with the Thayers Witch Hazel Lavender.

Looking forward to seeing you all in FatBoy February. I intend to run the PAL blade into the ground and will use a FatBoy for at least part of that.

 

January 31, 2017
Timeless OC .95 Gap
Feather (1)
WDC-6 with Sunrise Synthetic
Route 66 Rum Runner

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Another great shave this morning. The Timeless OC is a very efficient razor. This morning was no exception with 2 passes and touch ups ending in a near BBS. A splash of Captain's Choice Bay Rum. I hope everyone has a great Tuesday.

 

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I started this month with a focus on the Timeless OC razor and Route 66 soaps. I did use the razor and one of the Route 66 soaps each day this month. The Timeless OC has the fit and finish that nearly equals that of the highly regarded Wolfman razor. The only difference is the inside of the top plate on the Timeless is not mirror polished like the Wolfman. Both razors clamp the blade firmly with perfect alignment. For those that want a Wolfman without the wait, I would recommend taking a close look at the Timeless. I really don't like taking a lot of time during the week with my shave routine. I have it down to under 10 minutes from start to everything cleaned and put away. As such, I prefer razors that are efficient and drama free that allow me to zip it around and get things done. For the same reasons, I prefer soaps that work without a lot of thought. Both the Timeless and Route 66 delivered on these requirements.

From the 15th I used a brush and soap pairing for a week at a time. Going forward, I will continue the Soap and Brush A Week and add the Razor to the mix. I will finish out this week with the Timeless, WDC-6 and Rum Runner before moving onto the next. I feel this will allow me to more fully enjoy all the items in my shave den. So that will be my focus going forward.

 

Another great picture of your set up. Nice wrap up to the month.

 

January 31 SOTD:

Omega Boar Brush
MWF
Ever-Ready 1914
Clubman Special Reserve

I can't believe another month has passed. I have spent the month finding out which soaps do well on post shave feel and which need some help. I found that one soap definitely seems to outperform others I have tried: Nuavia. This soap really leaves me soft and smooth. Three others perform nearly as well for me: Stirling, Route 66, and Stubble Trubble. I could be perfectly happy with any of these. I had expected MWF to be a top performer, and it did well, but didn't match these other soaps. Most of my shave sticks were just a bit drying, although Arko was definitely more so. A little PSB takes care of this, though, and Arko does so well in other areas, I will keep it. Erasmic was a casualty this month. With its lacking lather and drying performance, I ended up throwing it away. It was an interesting and fun month. I greatly enjoy spending time on this thread; thank you for all the good times.

 

Thank you Jim

 

Love the black and white drawing style photo. I knew Nuavia was good but I didn't know it would do that well.

 

I finished January and only used Feather blades (except for 1 travel shave). I averaged 6 shaves per blade and therefore used 5 blades this month. One blade made it 8 shaves before it became too dull to cut all the whiskers and 1 made it 4 shaves. I'm continuing on to February with Feathers and a Gillette NEW Short Comb razor.

 

SOTD January 31, 2017

Blade: Chinese Schick
Razor: Personna injector
Brush: Omega Hi synthetic
Lather: Route 66 Sweeney Todd
Post: Witch hazel splash enhanced with Stirling Piacenza aftershave, Nivea sensitive balm
WTG, touch-up

Nice shave with Route 66 Sweeney Todd again. Personna injector is quite comfortable and really mild as a razor, which is okay with me. My daily shaves don't need an aggressive razor. Nice results today with enjoyable experiences from Route 66 all month.

Have a great day!

 

January wrap-up.....

I focused in on trying several injectors and SE razors, most of which were new to me. The entire month was also focused around Route 66 soap. Both endeavors were very successful. I have reaffirmed my affinity for injectors and SE razors. The Black Hawk has stuck out to me as a favorite and all the Schick injectors work really well. Route 66 soap is top-notch. I really enjoyed using it all month and trying some different scents with a few samples. This was a fun month of shaves and the time flew by!

 

I love the calendars Clint.

 

Thank you Jared. I take most all of my photos in advance. The calendar app helps me remember what I am supposed to use each day.

 

Tuesday, December 31, 2017

Shavemac Silvertip D01
Le Savon des Vulcans
Wolfman WR1-OC with Darwin Titanium
Feather HS #2
Fine L'Orange
Terre d'Hermes



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Amazing wrap up amigo!

 

31 January 2017 Blade Focus Shave
Morning everybody! Today is the Tuesday GSB Blade Focus. I now remember why I made this my go-to blade for the NEW. It's a stubble assassin! One and a half pass shave with some clean up and done. The Voskie didn't even come close to this(don't send the boys out, just stating fact). So unless GSB steps on it's crank between now and Friday, we have a winner.
I usually don't put pics on my weekday shaves, but I took this one last night to show off the Proraso Green AS I got yesterday. Combined with the Green cream, it was a very refreshing shave that I'll be taking again. The scent of the AS was clean, but I couldn't place it. No matter, smells great. It was a great way to start the workday. Have a great day!

 

Snazzy setup Clint! Boss brush too!

 

Thank Mark.

Thanks again Mark. You are the man on brushes and razors.

 

Nice!